Kukla's Korner Hockey

“Obviously I think Jarome has a lot more to give,” Playfair said. “Their top players have outplayed our top players.
“(Tuesday) night is a game we expect that to be improved upon.”
The Flames have to cycle the puck more effectively through the offensive zone and get more shots on Detroit goaltender Dominik Hasek, who has seen just 20 and 15 respectively from Calgary.
“Get pucks to Hasek from every possible angle.” Playfair said. “You’re not going to score on Dominik Hasek very often on your first shot.
“It’s going to be second shot, your third shot. Maybe he doesn’t have his stick in his hand by the time you score because you keep pounding away on it.”

Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi says he is ready to go, but coach Mike Babcock isn’t convinced.
Babcock said after today’s practice that whether or not Bertuzzi plays in Game 3 will be decided Tuesday.
“He has to convince me,” he is ready, Babcock said.

• Michael Barnett, according to a high NHL source, could easily move into the Executive Director’s chair at the Players’ Association. What remains to be seen is, A: Whether Ted Saskin survives the overwhelming move for his ouster, and, B: Whether the deposed Coyotes’ GM is willing to accept the Union leadership. We hope the offer comes and Mike accepts!
• Word out of Edmonton is that the three clubs expected to try hardest to sign Ryan Smyth this summer are Rangers, Maple Leafs and Colorado. We’ll add the Islanders as well.

What we didn’t know, expect or even think we were going to get was a Calgary team that didn’t show up for Games One and Two in Detroit.
Those outings were so pitiful that one well-respected hockey pundit called for the dismissal of head coach Jim Playfair and the return of Darryl Sutter behind the bench.
As if that would make a difference.
With all due respect to those who see the Flames having a hope of a chance to recover in this series via something as radical as a coaching change or even a few wins in the friendly confines of the Saddledome, let’s face facts.

Ottawa forward Patrick Eaves will not play in Game 4 of the Senators’ Eastern Conference quarter-final with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday (CBC, 7 p.m. ET).
The Ottawa winger didn’t skate in practice Monday, but his teammates said he was up and walking about after Sunday night’s game in Pittsburgh, a 4-2 win for the Senators.

The Stanley Cup playoffs leave nothing to the imagination. It is all right there in front of you. This season is no exception. Watching this extreme reality television on a nightly basis reaffirms what we already know: There is nothing like it. You know that feeling you get when you’re next to a new sheet of ice and you can’t tie your skates fast enough? That’s how we feel every night at this time of year as we wait for the games to begin.
There are more games tonight, and these nightly soap operas can change on one game. But here are some initial observations after the first week of the first round.
No. 1 Red Wings vs. No. 8 Flames
We are big Mike Babcock fans and he has his squad ready. Hands down, he would be my Canadian Olympic coach for 2010. His lines? Crosby-Heatley-Briere; Lecavalier-St. Louis-Getzlaf; Thornton-Marleau-Nash; Staal-Staal-Richards. Gold medal. Thanks for coming.

Left winger Alexandre Picard, the Blue Jackets’ No. 1 draft pick in the 2004 NHL draft, will likely miss at least part of the 2007-08 season after suffering a serious knee injury over the weekend.
Picard suffered torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee Friday when he was submarined by a defender while playing for the Blue Jackets’ top minor-league club, the Syracuse Crunch, a Blue Jackets source said.
Typically, the injury requires at least a six-month recovery from the time of surgery.

USA Hockey today named the first 18 players to its U.S. Men’s National Team that will compete at the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship in Moscow, Russia, April 27-May 13.
“We’ve got a good mix of players with World Championship experience and younger players who will likely be a part of our program for years to come,” said Jim Johannson, senior director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. “Our National Team Advisory Group has done an outstanding job in selecting players who we feel will excel in international competition.”

Thanks to Liz Mullen and the folks at Sports Business Journal, we have access to the most in-depth article on Bob Goodenow in years.
Take some time out and read it today!

from Liz Mullen at Sports Business Journal (normally a paid sub.),

In retrospect, it’s hard to say when, exactly, Bob Goodenow lost control of his union, but it may have begun in a very innocent way.
In the early days of the 2004-05 hockey lockout Goodenow, the NHL Players’ Association’s executive director, attended all the important bargaining sessions, as did NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. That changed about four months into the work stoppage.
“I think they were both involved in the negotiations for a certain point in time,” said Steve Larmer, a former NHL all-star who was the union employee in charge of player relations during the lockout. “And then Gary wasn’t there, and so [union officials] didn’t want Bob there.”